Why Does the Old Testament Call Some Cities “Devoted to Destruction”?

“Devoted to destruction” translates the Hebrew idea of ḥērem: something placed wholly under God’s ban.

What it meant

In conquest passages, a city could be declared the LORD’s alone:

• Israel was not to treat it as ordinary war plunder.
• Its valuables might be given to God’s treasury.
• Its people, animals, and property were removed from Israel’s possession.

At Jericho, Joshua says the city is “devoted to the LORD for destruction,” while silver, gold, bronze, and iron belong in the LORD’s treasury (Joshua 6:17–19, 24).

The point was not “Israel may take whatever it wants.” It was the opposite: Israel must not profit from what God has judged.

Why such a judgment occurred

Scripture presents these events as a particular act of divine judgment on entrenched evil, not a general permission for holy war. God had delayed judgment on the Canaanites for generations (Genesis 15:16), and Deuteronomy names practices such as child sacrifice, divination, and other abominations (Deuteronomy 18:9–12).

Israel itself was not morally superior. Moses explicitly says they were not receiving the land because of their own righteousness (Deuteronomy 9:4–6). If Israel adopted the same rebellion, it too would face judgment.

Jericho also shows mercy

Rahab had heard of the LORD, entrusted herself to him, and protected Israel’s spies. Though she was a Canaanite and an unlikely figure by human standards, she and her household were spared (Joshua 6:22–25).

So “devoted to destruction” is severe language for God’s holy judgment, but Jericho also reveals that those who turn to the LORD are not beyond mercy.

God’s judgment is real; his mercy is real too.